Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Control of adipose tissue cellularity by the terminal complement cascade

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 19, pages 679–680 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Adipocytes have high levels of many components of the complement system. These components are involved in antimicrobial activities, but also have the potential to regulate the maintenance and turn-over of adipocytes under normal and pathophysiological conditions through positive and negative regulation of the membrane attack complex.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Regulation of the membrane attack complex.

References

  1. Kruglikov, I. L., Shah, M. & Scherer, P. E. Obesity and diabetes as comorbidities for COVID-19: underlying mechanisms and the role of viral-bacterial interactions. eLife 9, e61330 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Mathieson, P. W., Würzner, R., Oliveria, D. B., Lachmann, P. J. & Peters, D. K. Complement-mediated adipocyte lysis by nephritic factor sera. J. Exp. Med. 177, 1827–1831 (1993).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. van Greevenbroek, M. M. J. et al. Up-regulation of the complement system in subcutaneous adipocytes from nonobese, hypertriglyceridemic subjects is associated with adipocyte insulin resistance. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 97, 4742–4752 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Kaye, S. et al. Upregulation of early and downregulation of terminal pathway complement genes in subcutaneous adipose tissue and adipocytes in acquired obesity. Front. Immunol. 8, 545 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Corvillo, F. et al. Complement factor D (adipsin) levels are elevated in acquired partial lipodystrophy (Barraquer–Simons syndrome). Int. J. Mol. Sci. 22, 6608 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Rozanov, D. V. et al. Cellular membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) cleaves C3b, an essential component of the complement system. J. Biol. Chem. 279, 46551–46557 (2004).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Li, X. et al. Critical role of matrix metalloproteinase 14 in adipose tissue remodeling during obesity. Mol. Cell. Biol. 40, e00564–e19 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Chun, T. H. et al. A pericellular collagenase directs the 3-dimensional development of white adipose tissue. Cell 125, 577–591 (2006).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Moskovich, O., Herzog, L. O., Ehrlich, M. & Fishelson, Z. Caveolin-1 and dynamin-2 are essential for removal of the complement C5b-9 complex via endocytosis. J. Biol. Chem. 287, 19904–19915 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Yang, C. C. et al. Inhibitory effect of PPARγ on NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Theranostics 11, 2424–2441 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors were supported by US National Institutes of Health Grants R01-DK55758, R01-DK127274, R01-DK131537, R01-DK099110, P01-AG051459 and RC2-DK118620 (to P.E.S).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scientific Department, Wellcomet GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Ilja L. Kruglikov

  2. Touchstone Diabetes Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    Philipp E. Scherer

Authors
  1. Ilja L. Kruglikov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Philipp E. Scherer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philipp E. Scherer.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kruglikov, I.L., Scherer, P.E. Control of adipose tissue cellularity by the terminal complement cascade. Nat Rev Endocrinol 19, 679–680 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-023-00900-w

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-023-00900-w

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing